AZ House GOP panel probing Dem Attorney General Kris Mayes debuts with accusations

A House GOP committee formed to investigate Attorney General Kris Mayes for alleged weaponization of her office and malfeasance held its first meeting Thursday, receiving a lesson in how state law applies to Arizona's top prosecutor.

The roughly 80-minute hearing came after Mayes made a trek to the Capitol, holding a press conference to dismiss the committee as a partisan stunt. Democratic lawmakers didn't show up for the committee, leaving three empty seats and the opportunity for Republicans to criticize them as refusing to hold members of their own party accountable.

Rep. Jacqueline Parker, R-San Tan Valley, leads the new House Ad Hoc Committee on Executive Oversight. Though the first meeting was general in scope, Parker took aim at Mayes' press event.

"I am very troubled by General Mayes' relentless attempts to threaten and intimidate this committee and other elected officials," Parker said. She charged that Mayes was going after political opponents by prosecuting county supervisors who delayed the 2022 election canvass in Cochise County and made threats to Mohave County supervisors who were considering a hand count of ballots, among other complaints.

"Those acts are just the tip of the iceberg," Parker said.

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House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Glendale, announced the formation of the committee last week. It will focus on oversight of Mayes and her office, with a specific eye on whether she is following her duty to defend state laws and crafting legislation to "deter partisan abuse and weaponization."

The first meeting featured roughly an hour of testimony from former Arizona Supreme Court Justice Andrew Gould, who gave an overview of the powers of an attorney general. Gould told lawmakers that attorneys general have only the powers that are explicitly authorized in statute, not more broad authority as afforded to attorneys general in some other states. The attorney general has the responsibility to defend the laws passed by the Legislature unless they think the law is unconstitutional, Gould said.

“I feel like I'm lecturing a law school class right now,” Gould said after a break in his testimony, prompting a laugh.

Rep. John Gillette, R-Kingman, asked several questions about "threats" made by the attorney general, but declined to provide specifics when approached by a reporter after the meeting.

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Mayes says committee is example of GOP 'political stunts'

Mayes, in her earlier press conference, dismissed the committee as waste of taxpayer resources. She made air quotes with her fingers when referencing the committee's formal name calling for "executive oversight."

She charged that GOP leaders in the Legislature were not used to an attorney general "who will actually roll up her sleeves and fight for Arizonans."

Mayes also called Gould a "sore loser former opponent" and said his testimony showed the partisan nature of the committee.

"If that isn't an indication of our elected officials using their platform and offices for political stunts, I don't know what is," Mayes said. Gould ran for but lost the GOP nomination for attorney general in 2022, a race Mayes ultimately won that November.

Gould said he was asked to testify because of his work on the Arizona Supreme Court deciding cases that evaluated the attorney general's authority.

"I have no idea what the battles are between the Legislature and the attorney general right now," he said. "I'm surprised that she would make that statement, and I certainly am not here for that purpose."

Rep. Oscar De Los Santos, a Laveen Democrat and the party's assistant leader in the House, called it a "sham committee" and affirmed Democrats would not participate.

"My Republican colleagues should be ashamed of themselves, and they should be ashamed of this divisive, childish and partisan exercise," De Los Santos said.

Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona House GOP launches panel to investigate Attorney General Mayes